The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario has been added as a respondent in a human rights proceeding, and accused of discrimination, after it kicked an autistic child with global developmental delay, severe intellectual disability, out of an early intervention program.

"CHEO declined to comment specifically on the case Thursday. But in an email, it said the hospital’s care providers are “incredibly committed to the well-being of kids and would never discriminate against a child because of a disability.
“Our clinicians have to make difficult decisions about the appropriate care for each child, and they always strive to base their decisions on the child’s unique needs and best interests.”
The only reason a child would be discharged from the intensive behavioural intervention program, the hospital said, “is if the treatment were not working for him or her.”

The CHEO did not indicate what "the appropriate care" would be for a child with autism and global developmental delay OTHER THAN early intervention behavioural intervention. It would be nice if the health "care" providers of the CHEO could indicate what other care was "appropriate" for this or any other child with autism and severe intellectual disability.

In the absence of any indication as to what other care would be of assistance to a child with autism and GDD, in lieu of early intervention, the only reasonable conclusion is that the allegedhealth care providers of the CHEO have simply written such children off as unworthy of assistance.

4 comments:

All of Ontario's gov't funded ABA programs do that... If you child is not learning or your child can learn just as easy in the school setting with supports... you're done.

ABA isn't for everyone. I know of another family that just left the program. This is a strict, rigid, well documented (on their part), unforgiving program where children do not come first.

Not something built using an IEP to address the child's strength's and weaknesses.

So... out you go. That's why they fought so hard to keep us. My kid was learning under it but he hated them and it wasn't worth it to us or him. Then they told us he'd never learn without them... Yet, in June I got a 5pg document that says "severely autistic, no longer ID"... who got the last laugh now???

No ABA isn't for everyone, but I know M.B. and his GDD is officially "DSM - IV for Mental Retardation" as diagnosed by CHEO. Accredited research show children with MR do learn, just not at the rate of 75% expected by CHEO and their "acquisition of learning targets."

Once again, we see how the APA sticks it to us. How many people have fought long and hard to access programs with "Autism" in the description, only to discover it doesn't apply to "their" autism? and how many programs accept people with autism, only to discover they had no idea "those" people could be like "that"?

Even before the latest DSM iteration, we would battle over transfers (military) because the only requirement was that services be available - so if ANYONE had "autism" in the description, it was appropriate (another problem: there was no consideration of wait-listing).

The CHEO IBI program seems to be designed to give service for around 1 year and then discharge the child on the grounds of "too much" or "not enough" progress. My child was discharged for the latter. I believe its politically motivated to move the wait list along so that the politicians can cite large numbers of children serviced.

Its like they believe the only children worth helping are the Lovaas best outcome 40% (when the evidence shows that mostly all children benefit from ABA).

They also like to hide behind a dubious distinction between IBI and ABA. Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI) is an intensive application of the principles of ABA. Well duh...Professionals from other jurisdictions in the ABA field scratch their heads at IBI moniker (by demonstration ABA is supposed to be intensive in the early years for the most efficacy).

Harold is absolutely correct! People should be up in arms on how CHEO and the Ontario IBI program is treating children with autism.

101 Noteworthy Sites on Asperger's & Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Why ABA For Autism?

The effectiveness of ABA-based intervention in ASDs has been well documented through 5 decades of research by using single-subject methodology21,25,27,28 and in controlled studies of comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention programs in university and community settings.29–40 Children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behavior as well as some measures of social behavior, and their outcomes have been significantly better than those of children in control groups.31–4American Academy of Pediatrics, Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

"We have to look also at environmental factors, and from my point of view, the interaction between the genetic factors and the environmental factors ... It looks like some shared environmental factors play a role in autism, and the study really points toward factors that are early in life that affect the development of the child"
Joachim Hallmayer, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University in California

Even Out Environmental and Genetic Autism Research Funding

Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones.

We need to even out the funding.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Researcher

My Autism Pledge For Conor

Today I pledge to continue;I Pledge to continue to fight for the availability of effective autism treatments;I Pledge to continue to fight for a real education for autistic children;I Pledge to continue to fight for decent residential care for autistic adults;I Pledge to continue to fight for a cure for autism;I Pledge to continue finding joy in my son but not in the autism disorder that restricts his life;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to hope for a better life for Conor and others with autism, through accommodation, care, respect, treatment, and some day, a cure;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to fight for the best possible life for Conor, my son with autistic disorder.

Dr. Jon Poling : Blinders Won’t Reduce Autism

"Fortunately, the ‘better diagnosis’ myth has been soundly debunked. ... only a smaller percentage of this staggering rise can be explained by means other than a true increase.

Because purely genetic diseases do not rise precipitously, the corollary to a true autism increase is clear — genes only load the gun and it is the environment that pulls the trigger. Autism is best redefined as an environmental disease with genetic susceptibilities."

We should be investing our research dollars into discovering environmental factors that we can change, not more poorly targeted genetic studies that offer no hope of early intervention. Pesticides, mercury, aluminum, several drugs, dietary factors, infectious agents and yes — vaccines — are all in the research agenda.